Winter Starting

[DaveP]

I use a portable Hot Box that is a gas fired hot water heater with a pump (12 Volt) and quick connectors. it heats the 250's in the 5 tons enough to fire up in about 12 - 15 mins. with ambient around 0. I tried to search my old post on this with out any luck.

That's a really good option right there... But you would need a shelter to really make use of it.

No shelter. just hook the wires to 12 volt and hook 2 quick couplers up and have a cup of coffee. when the coffee is gone the truck is ready to start.
this photo shows my shelter. or lack of.

 

[Rolling_Eudaimonia]

I use a portable Hot Box that is a gas fired hot water heater with a pump (12 Volt) and quick connectors. it heats the 250's in the 5 tons enough to fire up in about 12 - 15 mins. with ambient around 0. I tried to search my old post on this with out any luck.

That's a really good option right there... But you would need a shelter to really make use of it.

No shelter. just hook the wires to 12 volt and hook 2 quick couplers up and have a cup of coffee. when the coffee is gone the truck is ready to start.
this photo shows my shelter. or lack of.

What sort of temperatures are we dealing with? I mean in my hometown of Windham NY the temps drop to -10 or less at times and if you don't have a shelter plus heating it will not work... Now if we're talking 0-32 then I can see it working.

 

[DaveP]

I use a portable Hot Box that is a gas fired hot water heater with a pump (12 Volt) and quick connectors. it heats the 250's in the 5 tons enough to fire up in about 12 - 15 mins. with ambient around 0. I tried to search my old post on this with out any luck.

That's a really good option right there... But you would need a shelter to really make use of it.

No shelter. just hook the wires to 12 volt and hook 2 quick couplers up and have a cup of coffee. when the coffee is gone the truck is ready to start.
this photo shows my shelter. or lack of.

What sort of temperatures are we dealing with? I mean in my hometown of Windham NY the temps drop to -10 or less at times and if you don't have a shelter plus heating it will not work... Now if we're talking 0-32 then I can see it working.

I think about the coldest i have fired the M818 up was the day i ran it up to cheboygan for the Korean war Veteran (MIA for 50 years) funeral and it was - 28.

 

[DaveP]

To bring this a little closer for comparison, It will heat my Power Stroke to operating temp at 0 in less than 5 mins. Cant remember the btu's but it is quite high. this is what its made to do. they were quite common on trucks when i started out.

 

[Rolling_Eudaimonia]

Well then it seems to work well... I would have guessed a shelter being necessary for -28. I know when it reaches -10 for extended periods that you can have trouble starting even a gas engine vehicle... Did you use ether plus the heating system??? I used to have a hard time starting my jetta in temperatures under -18 ambient air...

 

[DaveP]

Well then it seems to work well... I would have guessed a shelter being necessary for -28. I know when it reaches -10 for extended periods that you can have trouble starting even a gas engine vehicle... Did you use ether plus the heating system??? I used to have a hard time starting my jetta in temperatures under -18 ambient air...

No need for death breath when using the hot box.

 

[Rolling_Eudaimonia]

Ether is great... It might blow up your engine but it always does something. I was looking at a Walter Truck once that was left out in the cold all the time it had a NHC-250 in it one shot of ether from the can and it started up just fine. I think the only thing on the truck worth anything was Engine... Walter Trucks are cool...

 

[snoplay]

Here s how we start up at -20F

 

[derby]

I do believe wind chill is a human factor,as previously mentioned .a piece of steel at -25 is -25 at -50 wind chill. I like block heaters,this is where a shelter would come in handy to help keep the heat in. I have used either, I don't like to though.kind of a last resort.

 

[TheBuggyman]

This was my solution....

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=10189&highlight=ether

 

[DaveP]

My M35 came with the either start. but i have not used it.
No offense meant here but any way to avoid using either your engine is better off.
mainly your top compression rings.

 

[derby]

I have a buddy that blew the piston dome apart and expanded the sleeve in a ford backhoe,using ether.

 

[TheBuggyman]

No offense taken! But I hope that no offense is given when I say: "Use ether correctly, or don't use it at all!"

It is very, very true that the over use of ether can cause immediate and catastrophic destruction of an engine or over time wash the rings of much needed oil at startup by cleaning the cyclinder wall.

That is why it is of utmost importance to use the properly sized orifices for the size of the engine you are operating. The old "give 'er one more shot, Eustis!" just doesen't cut it.

I've run ether in all of my equipment and trucks for the last 24 years and have NEVER seen performance degraded or engine life shortened by using ether. But I have used it correctly.

And then it all comes down to personal preference!

 

[TheBuggyman]

BTW, NEVER inject ether unless the engine is already rotating!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[DaveP]

No offense taken! But I hope that no offense is given when I say: "Use ether correctly, or don't use it at all!"

It is very, very true that the over use of ether can cause immediate and catastrophic destruction of an engine or over time wash the rings of much needed oil at startup by cleaning the cyclinder wall.

That is why it is of utmost importance to use the properly sized orifices for the size of the engine you are operating. The old "give 'er one more shot, Eustis!" just doesen't cut it.

I've run ether in all of my equipment and trucks for the last 24 years and have NEVER seen performance degraded or engine life shortened by using ether. But I have used it correctly.

And then it all comes down to personal preference!

Well said!
most of the guys i have seen use the stuff are not nearly as educated about it as you are.

 

[SoundGuy]

What do you recommend in South Louisiana where the winters get down to the blistering 30's 2 or 3 nights a year and is usually 40 - 50's by sun-up? ok, kidding. Serious though. What temp does gelling of diesel usually occur and at what temp does it go away? Just curious.

 

[Alex400]

Ok for clarification, I live in seattle in the summers and live in Ellensburg, WA during the school year. In the winter it averages between 0 and 20 degrees with a minus 20 wind chill. wind is always blowing. That is why I was wondering. And the place where I would be parking the Deuce would be down from where in the free gravel lot, not even remotely close to a power outlet. I would see it every day but, I would lack the ability to plug, let's say a block heater in.

Cold weather driving i know a bit about. The use of radiator covers and such. I did something similar with my 4runner when i had short commutes in the winter, i used a piece of cardboard to cover up a quarter of the radiator. What are the hood blankets you are talking about? Are they insulated blankets help to keep the heat in the engine bay?

Have you thought about sheltering the truck some? Keeping it out of direct wind and cold will help to keep the vehicle at only ambient air-temperature and not air-temperature plus wind-chill factor. I would construct a light weight shelter to cover the M35A2 with. And then I would use probably just a simple can of ether to start it up... Once you keep the truck at say 20 degrees instead of -10degress starting will be a lot easier. Also depending on what you make this shelter out of you might put in a space heater of some type... Open Flames would not be my first choice but a generator and electric would be fine I think for most materials. Heat the building up for an 1 to 2 hours before driving and that should really help.

My thing is, I would have it at school and I can't really construct a shelter in the gravel parking lot where I would be keeping it about a block from my dorm. It only really drops down to around zero for about a couple weeks then it generally sits between 10 or 20 at the coldest. Most likely I wouldn't drive it much either during these months because i don't really need go anywhere that is greater than walking distance and I did it would be more than ten miles, so hopefully it would warm up. Under ideal circumstances, I would plug in a block heater if I knew i was going to be driving it, so that then when I would come back to it, it would be almost ready to go. There is a basketball court over there with lights, so there might be an outlet where i could plug in a block heater. or some kind of heater. I am really hoping that a standard manifold heater and a good set of deep-cycle batteries will do the trick.

 

[illtemper]

well ,I haven't made it yet ,but here's my plan.

mount a lawn mower engine somewhere,preferably under the hood ,and use it to run an oil pump and water pump ,via pulleys /beits ,through a little radiator to heat them ,then through the engine. it should start easily at low temps and heat the block and fluids quickly while also working as a pre/post lube.
that's the plan anyway...Jon

 

[Alex400]

well ,I haven't made it yet ,but here's my plan.

mount a lawn mower engine somewhere,preferably under the hood ,and use it to run an oil pump and water pump ,via pulleys /beits ,through a little radiator to heat them ,then through the engine. it should start easily at low temps and heat the block and fluids quickly while also working as a pre/post lube.
that's the plan anyway...Jon

I was re-reading this thread and thought about your small engine under the hood idea. You could use a v-belt centrifugal clutch on the engine, so that when the small engine is off/idling, it could just free spin but but when you open it up it would start spinning the accessories. Just a thought.

http://www.hoffcocomet.com/comet/oem-industrial-clutches.asp

 

[bmoore2031]

I'm very interested in some of the links in this thread, but none of the SS ones work. Is there a way give those links a new life?

Thanks